War fallout sours thinly populated Oscars

By Caroline Overington in HollywoodMarch 26 2003

There is never a bad year to win an Oscar, but Nicole Kidman could certainly have picked a better one. This year's Academy Awards attracted poor audiences both on TV and on the night, and the parties were poor too, by the standards of other years.

Elizabeth Taylor agreed to go, then pulled out at the last minute, saying it would be "disrespectful to the people out there losing their lives". Sidney Poitier, Russell Crowe, Helen Hunt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Whoopi Goldberg were all absent.

In the US the ratings for the 3-hour program were down15 per cent on last year, and in Australia it was only the third most watched program on Monday night.

The event was low-key because of the war in Iraq, and some people were upset by the anti-war speeches, particularly that of the documentary maker Michael Moore.");document.write("

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Moore, who shouted "Shame on you, Mr Bush" before being drowned out by cheers and jeers, told the audience that he was speaking on behalf of all of the nominees in his category. But at least one of those who went on stage, Jacques Cluzaud, said he had no clear idea what Moore was going to do, and was so distraught by Moore's speech that he left the event immediately afterwards.

The prize for most belated speech must go to Roman Polanski, who said in a statement that the best-director award for The Pianist had deeply moved him. Polanski has been a fugitive from United States justice since he admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1978. The statuette will be posted to him.

Kidman said she was very proud to win the Oscar, and to "represent my country". She thanked the director of The Hours, Stephen Daldry, whom she described as "the man who won me the Academy Award". He disagreed, saying: "It's very good for Nicole, very good for Australia."

On the party circuit, even

Elton John was subdued as he again hosted an AIDS Foundation party at the Marquee Club. He scrapped the red carpet at the door after several stars said they did not want to be "put on the spot" about the war.